AUSTRALIAN MUSEUMS UNDER FIRE

Muse News | Michelle Wright

---

In 2018 Brazil’s National Museum went up in flames, in 2019 Notre Dome in Paris suffered damages due to fire, and in 2020 Australia is burning.

Australia is experiencing the worst wildfires seen in decades. It has been reported that 28 people have lost their lives, 3000 homes being lost to the flames, and some say up to one billion animal lives have been lost, with their homes also destroyed. Help and support is being sent from around the world.

Many museum specialists have been involved with the monitoring of the wildlife populations. Dr. Mark Eldridge, the Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum in Sydney, has been working with other scientists at the museum to give detailed estimates of animal death tolls. Other specialists like Mike Lee, a biologist at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, states that the estimate of animal deaths tolls does not include bats, frogs or invertebrates, and the invertebrate losses alone could number in the trillions. These scientists and specialists will be instrumental moving forward to understand the full impact of the loss of wildlife and hopefully be able to help in the aftermath of this disaster.

Smoke due to fire along the highway in New South Wales, Australia. Photo courtesy of Maddy Lewis.

While museums in Australia are not the first thing to come to mind when people are thinking about the wildfires, they are important and at risk. To date, no museums have been in danger from the fires, however many museums to be on high alert and alter their programming and operations accordingly. Within the first week of January of this year the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra closed its doors due to the smoke-filled air which could cause harm to the works inside. The National Gallery’s director, Nick Mitzevich, confirms that the artworks are not under any threat, and precautions are being taken. The biggest concern at the moment is the smoke, as Mitzevuch explains: “Those airborne particles can have any number of carcinogenics in them. If they settle on a painting or a textile or a photograph, they could have a corrosive effect on the surface. Anything in the air that is a foreign body has the potential to deteriorate artworks over time.” Currently the Gallery is home to a special exhibition featuring works by Matisse and Picasso on loan from the Tate in London and the Musée national-Picasso in Paris. All parties are mindful of the situation and being kept informed of the Galleries precautions and decisions.

National Gallery of Australia Canberra. Source.

Other Australian museums have been affected including the Murray Art Museum Albury, though the smoke is worse than Canberra, the museum remains open as a relief from the heat and smoke, especially for those who have been displaced. Other museums such as the Show and Tell Gallery in Corryong became a temporary shelter for 30 people on New Year’s Day, including a staff member who lost their home that day. Museums all over the country are taking steps to protect not only their works but also their people.